Legal Status of Sex Work in India

Abstract

Sex work in India is a complex and a multifaceted perplexity, characterised by ambiguities, inconsistencies and challenges that affect the lives of sex workers. Sex work can be defined as the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange of payment. Sex work is also described as prostitution, sexual services, commercial sex, whore etc. Sex work is considered as the oldest professions in the world. In India, there are number of women on the streets of India who do these kinds of their livelihood to earn their money. They turn to this profession only because they have no other skills and are not literate to get a job. In India, sex work is legal but there is no express provision stating its legality but trafficking is illegal. Millions of people generate income from sexual transactions around the world, including the United States. It is impossible to count them, given the social stigma and criminal sanctions against sex work. In most countries, the majority of sex workers are female, and the majority of their clients are male. But people of all genders are involved in sex work and are vulnerable to police abuse.